Felted soap...

Look what Ruby made today !

She started with a piece of homemade soap (no, not the goats milk soap from last night !)

Then she wrapped it up in some wool fleece...

Then she put it under the tap with the water as warm as she could handle it, and started to rub...gently at first...

...then a bit more vigorously as the wool started to 'felt'.  I helped her to get the felting process started, but she did most of it by herself and she really enjoyed it.

Here's her felted soap, pretty much finished and still soapy.  She choose the colours herself !

And here they are all done.  They look like pretty rocks.  What a lovely way to dress up a piece of soap for a special Christmas present!  Ruby was really excited that they turned out so well, because they are her Christmas presents for some special people.

soap and facials...

My eldest daughter Oriana has been with me for a couple of weeks holiday.  It's been AWESOME having her around.  My big girls are both away at uni and I miss them heaps.  Anyway, we made some goats milk soap last night.  Well, she made it, I sort of supervised -  ha!  From most of what I've read on other blogs, they recommend that you have some soap making experience with ''regular' soap before trying goats milk - it's a bit more involved.  And hey, this was my 3rd batch of soap - so I have 'some' experience - yes??  And guess what ?  Tonight we took our soap out of the mold and it looks like it worked nicely - very happy.

I'm thinking I could have cut the slices a bit thicker, like the one at the back on the left, but oh well, next time.  We used a couple of 1L milk cartons - the cardboard ones for our mold, and I kind of like the shape - they look sort of like beautifully rounded squares.

They almost look good enough to eat don't you think !  Once again, I haven't added any colour or fragrance, but I like it like that.  I like that natural smell ! 

We have been using the soap from my first batch already.  Had no choice really, we ran out of the last bar of bought soap, and I refused to buy any more so we tried some and wow!  It is so wonderful to use.  It lathers up nicely and feels like it's actually moisturising the skin - it would have to be the most luxurious soap I've ever used - and hey, it's a very basic homemade soap.  I will NEVER buy soap from the supermarket again.  If you have never made your own soap before, try it - it's not as scary as you might think !  Promise !


And while we're on the subject of bathrooms - that's where you use soap right ? - well, this is what else has been going on in our bathroom...

say cheese !

look how many teeth I've got !

and this little cranky pants is really the most adorable little girl in the world !

Love you Marlise.

keeping clean...

I made soap !!  I'm so excited about it too!  I've been wanting to make soap for years but always put it in the too hard basket.  Then a few months ago I bought the ingredients, but was still too scared of using the caustic soda to make the lye - necessary to make the soap.  aaaaaaahhhhhh!! Then I read this tutorial about making soap - sounded so easy, and I had the ingredients for her recipe.  So I kicked the family out of the house last Saturday - was still scared about using the lye, but I had safety goggles and gloves and lots of newspaper and...and..and I went ahead and did it !  WOW! what a feeling !  It was so much easier than I expected and not scary at all.  I mixed the caustic soda and water outside to avoid the fumes, and no time at all I was pouring the mixture into my mold.

24hrs later, I had soap - it worked !  I cut it up into bars and and have been turning it everyday to aid the drying process.  Give me 6 weeks and I'll be using my very own, luxurious soap.  Can't wait !

So here is my first batch of soap - in it's natural state - no colour or fragrance added

Look at it's beautiful smooth texture...just like a proud mummy I am !

ooh, and I also used this tutorial as a reference too.  Soap making looks like so much fun.  I'm gearing up to make some more already.

By the way, are you feeling crunchy ??

haha...what do YOU use to wash your face with?  I've used all sorts of things from the kitchen cupboard - or fridge -  like buttermilk and sour cream.  But now I'm using honey.  Why would you pay money for a cleanser with chemicals in it, when you can use something you already have at home - honey ! Honey has heaps of beneficial properties and you can find them  at

this blog and see if it works for you.  I've been washing my face with honey for a week now, and I'm loving it.  Try it for yourself and let me know what you think.